Everest 1924: A Century in Review Symposium

Looking back on expeditions of Chomolungma: Mother Goddess of the Earth

Please join us as we commemorate 100 years since Sandy Irvine and George Mallory's famous Everest expedition. 

We are excited to present a group of speakers who are all impressive in their own right, but together will ensure a very special event to mark 100 years since the 1924 expedition to Mount Everest.  

Booking link for those without a Merton affiliation

Booking link for those with a Merton affiliation

Link to live stream (will begin at 2pm on the 27th)

Programme:

13:45    Doors open to guests
14:00    The event commences with a welcome by the Warden of Merton College, Professor Jennifer Payne, and a short intro from Julie Summers
14:10    Talk 1, Dr Melanie Windridge – Summiting the Science of Everest
14:50    Talk 2, Professor Julie Rak - Goddess, "Bastard," Hen: the Meanings of Everest
15:30    Refreshment break (Tea, coffee, and biscuits in the Foyer)
16:00    Talk 3, In-Conversation: Rebecca Stevens, MBE, and Julie Summers
16:40    Talk 4: Panel discussion—chaired by Dr Anna Saroldi
17:10    Q&A
17:40    The event ends, and drinks and appetizers are served in the foyer

Speakers:

Rebecca Stephens MBE

Rebecca Stephens' early career was in journalism, working first as reporter and then deputy editor of one of the Financial Times magazines.  It was writing for the FT Weekend that she was assigned to Everest and discovered her passion for climbing. Rebecca was the first British woman to climb Everest and was awarded an MBE for her achievement.  The following year she went on to become the first British woman to scale the Seven Summits, the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. Rebecca is an accomplished writer, drawing on her experiences of both business and the great outdoors.

Professor Julie Rak

Julie Rak (FRSC) holds the Henry Marshall Tory Chair in the Department of English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta, Canada. Her latest book is False Summit: Gender in Mountaineering Nonfiction (2021). She has written many other books, collections and articles about nonfiction, popular culture and print culture. Much of her work addresses sexism and racism in mountaineering. 

Dr Melanie Windridge

Dr Melanie Windridge is a plasma physicist, speaker, writer… with a taste for adventure. She has a PhD from Imperial College London and is the founder and CEO of Fusion Energy Insights, which keeps people up to date with developments in the growing fusion industry. Additionally, Melanie enjoys combining science with adventure. Her book Aurora: In Search of The Northern Lights investigates the science of the aurora against a backdrop of travel. In 2018 Melanie climbed Mount Everest, filming and writing to tell the story of the science that gets us to the summit. Melanie loves the mountains and believes science and exploration go hand in hand. 

Julie Summers

Julie Summers is an author, historical consultant, and writer, who is also Sandy Irvine's great niece.  

Chairing the panel discussion will be Dr Anna Saroldi (2019), who recently published a first case study on Translation and mountaineering.